Fig. 1: Visualization of the planned social housing project in Weimar, managed by igb AG. The project is a care facility with an emergency shelter for children and adolescents. It has not yet been built but is currently in the planning phase. photo shows the Lindau Thermal Baths.

igb AG relies on the potential of BIM in the sustainable planning process

We are pleased to see how diverse our users’ applications of our software Tables for Revit are. We continuously receive constructive feedback on its use across various topics and planning areas, from small-scale to large-scale projects. This includes insights from Tobias Jung, a BIM expert at 3D Jung, and Marc Bisselik, who used Tables as an essential analysis tool for his master’s thesis at Bauhaus University Weimar and shared his experiences with us.

igb AG is a consulting and planning company based in Weimar with 34 employees. The company focuses primarily on industrial and social building projects and mainly operates as a general planner. About four years ago, the firm transitioned to BIM-supported building planning and has since been working with digital models in Revit.

Tobias Jung, a training and support partner in the BIM sector, has already worked as a consultant for Tables in other companies. Since 2018, he has been deeply engaged with Tables for Revit and maintains direct contact with Jochen Reichert, co-founder of Planworks. Jung currently works for igb AG, among others, acting as an interface between companies. In addition to providing feedback on the use of Tables to Planworks, he also supports the improvement of tools such as Tables for Revit, Tables for IFC, and the Room Finishing Tool as an alpha and beta tester.

Fig. 2: Representation of Data Collection and Parameter Calculation Using a Material Example.

Fig. 3: Systematic visualization of the LCA process, including all interfaces and tools involved throughout the workflow.

«In every Revit training session, I now mention Tables because, for me, it is an essential part of making the most of the software.»

Marc Bisselik is a planning engineer at igb AG and has been responsible for BIM since the company’s transition to Revit. He started his career at the company in 2016 as a working student and has since become a permanent member of the team. In addition, he serves as a sustainability officer in building planning and is a DGNB consultant (an accredited expert in sustainable construction, planning, and DGNB certification).

Given the ongoing climate change and the associated demands on the construction industry, he sees life cycle assessment as essential for sustainable building planning. As part of his master’s thesis, he developed a “Methodology for Model-Based Life Cycle Analysis and Energy Assessment of Sustainable Buildings Considering Integrated Planning Processes.” He used Tables to evaluate life cycle assessments directly from the Revit model. His goal was to create an optimized process for simplified life cycle assessment while leveraging the potential of BIM.

For his research, Bisselik selected a social housing project in Weimar—a care facility with an emergency shelter for children and adolescents, which is being managed by igb AG. The project has not yet been built but is in the planning stage, making it an ideal foundation for his work.

Tables as a Powerful Tool for Life Cycle Assessment

To integrate sustainability aspects into the planning process, Bisselik analyzed various workflows for their effectiveness in a holistic planning approach. As part of this integrated process, both building planning and building technology needed to be considered. He explored the possibility of assigning parameters directly in Revit and linking them to building components to automate the life cycle assessment (LCA) of a building using specialized software.

Although several software providers offer LCA evaluation tools, most lack a direct interface with Revit or only allow for quantity extraction, requiring manual input of life cycle assessment datasets. Since Revit itself does not support LCA evaluation, implementing an analysis tool was unavoidable—despite adding another interface to the process.

Through an internal Tables training session led by Jung, Bisselik quickly learned the software’s fundamentals and came up with the idea of conducting a model-based LCA using implemented tools in Tables as part of his master’s thesis. He found that “if the model is built correctly and the information is properly assigned, all you need to do is update it, and all lists are immediately up to date.”

Tables can be linked not only with Revit but also with other tables, allowing users to work with both static and dynamic tables (directly connected to Revit). Bisselik emphasizes that proper setup of parameters in Revit, accurate assignment of information to building components, and error-free modeling are essential prerequisites. Once these conditions are met, evaluations can be continuously updated with minimal effort.

Fig. 4: Graphical Evaluation and Comparison of the LCA Data for the Social Housing Project in Weimar.

«Tables is the link
between Revit and Excel.»

igb AG on Its Experience with Tables and Collaboration with Planworks

After deciding to use Tables as an analysis tool, Bisselik delved deeply into the software’s functionalities. Creating lists based on simple parameters posed no issues during his research. However, as the formulas for calculating various environmental indicators became more complex, Jochen Reichert from Planworks stepped in. As a consultant, he provided direct support and helped resolve challenges while also incorporating feedback from Bisselik and Jung to further improve the software.

For Jung, the advantages of Tables are clear: “Thanks to Tables, you can do many great things that wouldn’t be possible in Revit alone. It gives you access to parameters that you simply can’t reach in standard Revit.” After years of using the software, he especially values the ability to export data directly into Excel rather than having to process it in other formats. What convinces him even more is that the software doesn’t just allow data extraction but also enables writing information back into the model.

Jung and Bisselik hope that, in the future, it will be easier to integrate new ecological requirements into the planning process, ultimately contributing to more optimized sustainable planning. Bisselik adds that an interface between Revit, Tables, and ÖKOBAUDAT would be helpful to ensure that LCA data for various materials and components remains up to date.

At Planworks, we are excited to announce that we are already working in this direction, with exciting new developments planned for next year.

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Planworks GmbH 2023
Photos: ©Marc Bisselik, igb AG